"How long until they wake up?"
"They're Alicorns. They should wake up pretty quickly."
Twilight squeezed her eyes. She heard voices, but couldn't make out who was talking. She rolled off of whatever she was on top of and fell into the water.
She opened her eyes. Water? Why am I in... oh, right. I remember.
"Twilight!"
Twilight looked over in time to see Fluttershy rushing towards her. Once she got to the moat, Fluttershy tripped and pretty much stumbled into Twilight.
"Twilight!" The only part of Fluttershy's face that was dry was the part pressed hard against Twilight's chest. "I'm sorry! I... I..."
Twilight put her hoof on the back of Fluttershy's head. "It's alright. You blackmailed me because you didn't want me to get our students killed, right? Because you were worried that I would tell Celestia. I don't blame you. I've been pretty bad about blindly doing what Celestia tells me to do in the past. But this... Even if you hadn't blackmailed me, I probably would have stayed silent about it. The most I can be upset at you for is putting more stress on me than I needed." Twilight pulled Fluttershy into a tight hug. "I don't care how much trouble I got in, I wasn't about to tell on our students."
"And I don't blame you for that."
A white wing wrapped around the mares. They forgot who they were right next to.
"I had my own suspicions about who it was, but I kept quiet about it so I wouldn't have to hurt a child. If I learned earlier that you were keeping quiet to keep your students safe, I would have gladly turned a blind eye." Celestia nuzzled her precious student. "It's what anyone with a heart would have done. The only thing I have to be upset about is that you didn't trust me, and I can't blame you for not trusting me in this situation."
Twilight smiled. Fluttershy, however, had to wonder about something. "If you didn't want to kill Smolder, why did you set up the execution like this? Especially inviting all the world leaders?"
Celestia looked at the other leaders. "I... actually didn't. I'm not sure who did it, but I didn't want anyone else to be here. Just a few essentials. As for the execution itself-" Celestia's eyes went wide as they locked on to the platform.
Twilight looked over herself. Her students were up there, but there was someone with them. "Chancellor Thunder Lock? What are you-"
That's when it clicked.
He had a gold coat and a honeydew mane. He was wearing a bracelet with a cresent moon charm.
"Gold Strike?"
The "pony" pulled in his legs, then extended them as lightning hit him, replacing his appearance with that of a slender Kirin. He held his head high as he smiled at them, his violet eyes seemingly looking through them. "Hello, princess."
Autumn fanned herself with her hoof. "Wow. I didn't realize he was that hot."
Rain Shine herself felt a little flushed just looking at him. "It's a real shame he's taken."
Celestia quickly got to her hooves and pushed Twilight and Fluttershy back. "What are you doing here?"
"You were about to put down someone I happen to like. Why wouldn't I show up?"
Silver tilted her head. What is he doing?
Ocellus bit her lip. I think I know.
"Angel?" Fluttershy had no idea her pet rabbit was nearby until it hopped on to her back.
"Do you think I'll let you take control of the White Cursed again?"
Twilight gasped. "That's right! His mind control isn't limited to the White Cursed!"
Celestia looked at Twilight. "What? Right! That scroll!"
"Aww, you found documentation of my tricks? How sad for me?" Gold's tone defied his words.
Celestia glared at him. "So you won't deny it?"
"No point. My powers worked on smaller creatures and have only grown stronger with time. By now, I may even be able to control you, princess."
Celestia scowl intensified. "Then why haven't you?"
Gold Strike gave her a sinister smile. "I have my reasons."
"Don't play games!" Celestia raised her voice at him. "I'll have you know that I have decades, nearly a millennia, of knowledge that you couldn't possibly-"
"Lagomorph!"
At Gold Strike's command, Angel bounded off of Fluttershy's back, spun around in the air, then landed on Gold's head looking completely different. "Tada! The adorable genius has returned!"
Smolder's jaw dropped. "Him again?"
Gold Strike pointed at the stylized rabbit on his head. "Lagomorph here is my aspect, meaning that while I was dormant and unable to do anything, as you seem to have realized, he was able to learn and adapt in my place. He knows about the Elements of Harmony, Discord, the Crystal Empire, the Rainbow Power, and even the Pillars of Old. And his knowledge is my knowledge."
Fluttershy's ears folded back as her pupils shrank. "Angel? Y-you... you were..."
"Sowwy, Fwattasai! I do like you a lot, really, but I'm part of Big G here, so I have to be on his side."
"I created Lagomorph as a contingency, in case something happened to me, but he was invaluable in making sure I stay with the times. Even with the order to watch you specifically."
Celestia's eye twitched. "You... you had him watch me?"
"Yeah, that was the order, but I got bored after a long time and decided to stick with someone else. Conveniently, she ended up being close to you anyway."
Gold Strike let out a low laugh. "There's a certain part of me that makes fate dictate my life more-so than others. I guess that passed on to you."
"Fifteen years." Fluttershy held her hooves to her mouth. "He was with me for fifteen years."
Twilight bit her lip. A rabbit should not live that long. Did Fluttershy never think that was odd?
Celestia was grinding her teeth. "And you did this... because of Luna?"
Autumn leaned towards Rain Shine. "I think she's getting mad."
Rain Shine raised an eyebrow. "What was your clue?"
Gold Strike looked at his fellow Kirin with a lopsided smile. "D-do you two mind? You're getting distracting."
The pair of female Kirin shared a look, then shrugged.
Gold Strike sighed and turned back to Celestia. "There was something other than Luna that influenced my actions. If you knew the truth, you wouldn't blame me for what I did."
Twilight stepped forward. "What is that truth?"
Celestia put her wing in front of Twilight. "Don't bother. He's probably lying."
"What's this?" Gold Strike bent down, his smile unwavering. "Are you unwilling to hear me out? Am I that much of a monster in your eyes?"
"I have no reason to trust you, you murderer!"
There was a reaction in Gold Strike's tail, but he remained straight-faced regardless. "So you won't listen to me? That's fine. You just have to listen to your student."
"What?" Celestia turned around at Twilight, eyes completely wide.
Twilight stepped back. "I-I don't know what he's talking about! I can't look through time!"
"Though not for reasons you'd think of fast, there is a way to see the past."
The mares looked at the new arrival. "Zecora?"
Gallus scratched his head. "Wait, who?"
Yona leaned over. "One of the Headmare's friends. I think."
Twilight looked at the potion that Zecora had. "That's... is that the potion from the Plunder Vine incident?"
"It is." Gold Strike had laid down at some point. "I asked her to bring it as soon as she could. You remember the spell to trigger it, right princess?"
Twilight levitated the potion in front of her. "I think it was..." Twilight cast dark magic on the bottle, turning it from purple to white.
"There you go. Just take a sip and then tell Princess Celestia why I'm doing what I'm doing."
"It's really that simple, huh?" Twilight moved her lips towards the potion.
Then the potion zipped away from her.
"Huh?" Twilight noticed where the potion went. "Celestia?"
Celestia's eyes were locked on to Gold Strike. "What are you planning? Why are you letting her learn the truth?"
Gold Strike just smiled at the princess.
"It's alright, your highness. Just let me drink it so I can tell you what I want to."
Celestia looked over her shoulder at Twilight, who promptly put her hoof over her mouth.
"Wha- Why did I-"
"Gold Strike!"
The Kirin giggled. "Did I slip up there? Oh well, it's not like anyone else can drink it and tell you the truth."
Yona, be ready to mind link.
Yona looked at Ocellus. Huh?
What do you mean, Ocellus?
If he's about to do what I think he is, we'll be immune to it, but we really should see it.
Celestia started laughing.
Gold Strike's smile quickly faded. "What's so funny?"
Celestia's laughter intensified.
Gold Strike stood up. "What are you laughing at?"
Celestia's expression was a smile similar to what a lunatic would have. "It's hard to think you didn't realize this, but someone here can drink this potion without you manipulating them into lying to me!"
Gold Strike opened his mouth, then his eyes went wide. "No. Don't you dare."
Celestia brought the potion to her own lips and tilted her head back, lifting the potion up.
"No!" The Kirin leaped off the platform.
"That's too much!" Twilight removed the potion from Celestia's lips.
Once Gold Strike touched the ground, a wave of electricity shot out, and everyone's vision went white.
Celestia blinked a couple of times. "This is... Ponyville. Back before it was destroyed. It's odd to see it like this again."
Celestia looked around a bit. "It's the dead of night, so most of the villagers should be asleep at home right now. If I'm looking at the past, then this might be the night that it was destroyed. What does this have to do with his motives? Or does the potion pick a random point in history and Twilight just got-"
She cut herself off when she saw someone wearing a fancy scarf. "Bamboo Tower?"
She rushed over to her old advisor, who seemed to be looking around for something. "Bamboo! I'm so sorry. I did everything I could for your family, but I wish I could have saved your life. You were always so vocal against the White Cursed, and I should have listened to you."
Bamboo veered behind a building, and Celestia followed. "You were right about what they ended up being. I should have appreciated you more. You... You... What are you doing with that match?"
As Bamboo tried to light the match, Celestia looked at what was just in front of him. A pile of dark powder, with a line leading away from it. A sudden light caught her attention just before her advisor dropped it into the powder.
"NO!" Celestia tried to catch it with her hooves, but the match just passed right through them. Celestia watched the powder ignite, then quickly followed the fire as it zipped away. Just when she rounded the corner, something terrifying happened.
A string of explosions, causing several buildings to fall and a number more to light on fire.
Celestia looked back at the arsonist. "You-"
Another blast came from the building they were behind, causing a large chunk of debris to land on the criminal.
"Good! You deserved that you-" Celestia stopped as she realized what was about to happen.
"What the heck?"
That voice. That was Sky Blitz! Celestia stepped back into the main street to see the seven-
She stared with wide eyes and a lowered jaw. There were the seven members she knew of, but there was someone else.
Gold Strike.
"Get these fires out! Look for survivors!" Sky was barking out orders as several of them rushed forward. The last one to move was Castor, who just walked forward casually.
Gold Strike ran forward until he got close to the building Bamboo was behind. He looked past the building for a moment before following the steps Bamboo took earlier. Celestia rushed behind the building again.
"You!" The Kirin stood over the crushed pony. "Did you do this?"
Bamboo started giggling.
"Answer me!" Gold Strike grabbed the stallion by the scarf. "What did you-" He paused as he saw something. Celestia couldn't quite see it until it was lifted in front of the Kirin.
It was the emblem of the Night's Embrace.
Gold Strike stared at the emblem, then at the arsonist. "I should have known. You were always at odds with our team. Why else would you be."
Bamboo still had a smile on his face. "It's better than that. My nephew was recently promoted to captain of the royal guard. He also got some of our members in as well."
Celestia gasped in horror. Several of her current guards were part of bloodlines that lead back to the days of Nightmare Moon. How many of her own guards were aiming for her downfall?
"And they're all on their way here right now." Bamboo laughed until he coughed, then went limp.
Gold Strike dropped the emblem and went back towards the main street. "We need to leave! Now!" He stopped before reaching the main street.
"HALT!"
The Kirin took a step back, then another, before turning around and running. Celestia stayed behind just long enough to see a guard pick up the emblem and hide it on himself, then she ran after Gold Strike.
Once Celestia caught up with Gold Strike, he was sitting in a small clearing. Crying. When she tried to walk towards him, he suddenly looked up, then got to his hooves. Celestia followed his gaze upwards and saw what he was looking at.
The moon.
"LUNA!" He cried out. "WHAT DID I DO? WHY DO I DESERVE THIS?"
Celestia bit her lip and started to cry. For all these years, she felt like she was the only one to miss Luna so badly.
"LUNA! PLEASE COME BACK! PLEASE!"
But, for all these years, she never realized one important thing.
"LUNAAAAAAAA!"
Gold Strike was just as good at hiding his true emotions as she was.
She walked over to the sobbing boy and placed her wing over him. "I'm sorry, Gold Strike."
"Why did you abandon us?"
Celestia looked behind her. Sky Blitz looked like he was about to tear Gold Strike apart. Looking back to Gold Strike, she saw that he was glaring behind him.
"You should have helped us, you coward!"
Gold Strike turned around. "You were the one that suggested we hide our numbers. I was just following your orders, leader."
"Don't act like that. I'm the one in charge, and if I say you're wrong-"
"You're a terrible leader. You have that power because you were able to command a team of guards without issue. Our team was far from a team of guards."
"But you only needed to obey me!"
Celestia bit her lip. As a leader herself, she knew that the leader often needs to adapt to who they're leading, not the other way around. If your only justification for a choice is "I'm in charge," then you really shouldn't be.
Gold Strike rolled his eyes. "They'll be after one of us. You know that right?"
"Then you get back to that place and-"
"They'll realize that you're still alive. You've practically been the face of our team. If I go back, they'll wonder what happened to you and still look for you."
"I just need time to make a new team-"
"And they'll die as well. Celestia will listen to her guards and her royal court before she listens to us, and they want us dead. I have a way to seal it away without anyone else here. I just need the guards to stay away from me.
Sky stammered out a few sounds, then let out a cry of frustration. "You better appreciate this, you coward!"
The Pony ran off as the Kirin turned around.
"I'll be too busy mourning."
"Big G!"
A rabbit, far less fancy than it was in the present time, bounded up to him.
"Lagomorph, I need you to watch over Celestia for me. Keep the Night's Embrace from harming her, no matter what it takes."
The little rabbit's eyes fell. "What are you going to do?"
Gold Strike took a deep breath. "Something drastic. I don't want Celestia to fall to those monsters while I'm gone."
"Goldie!"
Gold Strike put his hoof on Lagomorph's head. "It's alright. I don't plan on dying. Do your duty, little solder."
Lagomorph held his expression for a second, then tightened his eyebrows and saluted before bouncing off.
Gold Strike watched his familiar leave, then turned into a bolt of lightning and shot into the sky. Celestia spread her wings to follow him, only to suddenly find herself on a ship. She looked around and saw a lightning bolt headed for the ship. She stepped out of the way of it.
Once it landed, Gold Strike formed back into a Kirin and rushed into the ship. Celestia wasted no time following him through the ship down to the bottom and into a specific room. The Kirin slammed his hooves into a mirror, which rippled at his touch, and started saying something in an odd language.
As he chanted, the mirror gave off an odd light and the walls were immersed with a dark fog. Neither of those deterred Gold Strike, as he continued speaking seemingly incoherently.
Moments later, the light grew more intense, and the dark fog started going into the mirror.
Gold Strike's eyes started glowing. "Veni mecum, Erebus!"
There was one final massive flash of light that completely blinded Celestia.